That Which Watches from the Shadows
by misha2
Summary: A short sequel to 'Ghost.' Akira is enjoying being close to someone his own age, but has begun to suspect that Shindo's secret runs deeper than he imagined. Does he have the courage to accept the whole truth?


This is Hikaru no Go fanfiction. It is also a sequel to another short piece  
that I wrote last May and June and released on ff.net last September. That  
story is called 'Ghost' and can still be found on ff.net and will, someday,  
also be archived on my personal page at www.akane.org You don't *need* to  
read 'Ghost' to understand this story, but it couldn't hurt any.   
  
I hope you enjoy the story. Please let me know what you think. ^-^  
That Which Watches from the Shadows  
---------------------------  
  
There were two times when Shindo's play unnerved Akira.   
Other than his high learning curve, two things set him above  
any of the opponents that Akira had ever faced professionally.   
The first was the amazing hands that he couldn't tell the  
reason for until suddenly they were perfectly positioned ten  
to fifteen hands further along. The second was his ability to  
imitate his master's play.  
  
In the beginning it had made Akira a little angry. Once  
or twice he'd narrowly stopped himself from accusing Shindo of  
switching to white hand in the middle of a game. Rational  
thought had won eventually. After all, there was no rule  
against Shindo changing his mind about whether or not to use  
white hand any time he pleased. Now that he knew the truth  
about Sai, though, he was even more intimidated. Shindo was  
learning on his own to predict where Sai would place a stone  
in his position. He was getting better and better at it every  
time the two boys met.  
  
It was incredibly exciting.  
  
Akira had made kifu of every game he'd ever played  
against Sai as well as a few kifu of games he'd seen Shindo  
play against Sai. He'd studied them daily since his first  
game here in the boy's home, but he still found it nearly  
impossible to predict where the spirit would place any stone.   
Given as many chances to challenge Sai as Shindo had, perhaps  
he too would begin to see patterns, but there was no  
guarantee.  
  
For today, though, he was winning.  
  
"Ah! I give up. Geeze! I'm gonna have to find somebody  
weaker to play against soon or I'm gonna forget how to win."  
  
"You're doing very well."  
  
It had been some time since he'd heard something so close  
to whining from his friend. "But you're still so far ahead!"  
  
It was a bit distressing. It would seem that even Shindo  
needed encouragement from time to time. "I'm ahead only  
because I started sooner. Can't you feel the gap between us  
narrowing?" Akira himself had felt little else for years.  
  
"No. I'm gonna lose to you and Sai for the rest of my  
life."  
  
"Shindo ... I ..."  
  
"Ah, just let me sulk for a while. I'll feel better  
afterwards."  
  
"If you insist."  
  
"It's not a bad idea, though, now that I think about it.   
I should go play my grandfather again or something. Bet he'll  
be surprised."  
  
"Your grandfather plays?"  
  
Shindo sat up and leaned against the bed. "Yeah. He's  
in amateur tournaments every now and then. I've only played  
him once, so it'd be good to see if I can beat him yet."  
  
This was interesting. "You lost?"  
  
"Yeah. He's pretty strong for a geezer."  
  
"When was this?"  
  
"Last summer. Around the time you jumped me in that  
internet caf‚."   
  
He knew better than to rise to the bait. Shindo took  
great pleasure in trying to lure him into loud arguments.   
"How high would you say your skill level was?"  
  
"Well, a couple weeks after that, I got challenged by  
that captain of that team you were on for Kaio. He beat me  
pretty good too, but he said I was about as good as your  
second board. And he told me I wasn't good enough to be an  
insei yet, so naturally I applied the next day." He gave a  
crooked smile and Akira had to laugh.   
  
"Kishimoto challenged you?"  
  
"Is that strange?"  
  
"No." Surely an insightful young man like Kishimoto  
would want to find out just why Akira had spent so much energy  
pursuing someone like Shindo. He had to wonder what  
conclusions his sempai had drawn from their battle. He also  
had to admire Shindo's discretion in hiding Sai's existence so  
completely once he'd made the decision to pursue the game on  
his own. If it had been Akira, he'd have been sorely tempted  
to allow him a game or two if he were in an important  
competition with little chance of winning.  
  
There was an unassuming tap on the closed bedroom door.   
"Hikaru, dinner is ready. Will Akira-kun be staying?"  
  
Shindo looked at him. "Want to?"  
  
"If it's not too much trouble."  
  
"Yeah, mom! We'll be down in a minute!"  
  
***  
  
Once the goban was in proper order and the two boys were  
seated around the western-style table, Mrs Shindo set dinner  
out. It was a mild smelling vegetable curry with rice.   
Shindo helped himself and Akira tried not to laugh when his  
mother scolded him about his manners.  
  
"Hikaru, are you going to be gone tomorrow night too?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You keep going out to Juban. I don't know if it's safe  
for you to be out so much at night."  
  
"Oh! That's right!" Akira said. "How *are* things going  
with the Asakura boys?" He'd heard already from both the  
parents and the children themselves when he'd followed up to  
see if they'd been happy with his recommendation, but he  
wanted to get Shindo's impression. He also didn't mind  
running a bit of interference for Shindo when it came to his  
mother's overprotectiveness and general lack of knowledge of  
the world of go.  
  
Shindo motioned that his mouth was full, so Akira turned  
his attention back to Mrs Shindo. "You mustn't worry about  
the Asakura's. They're a well connected, respectable family.   
The boys' older brother goes to my school and is running for  
next year's student council. His parents have been really  
supportive. They live in a very nice neighborhood."  
  
"Yeah!" said Shindo who had apparently managed to  
swallow. "And Mr Asakura has a car and they always drive me  
home, right? What are you worried about?"  
  
"Mrs Shindo, as a new professional your son is expected  
to take appointments with patrons at least occasionally." He  
put on his most charming smile. "I'm sure it will be a good  
chance for him."  
  
Mrs Shindo smiled sweetly. "Well ... If Akira-kun says  
it's alright ..."  
  
"Aaaanyway," said Shindo, changing the subject with his  
usual tact, "I'm not going tomorrow night. I'm going to visit  
Grandpa after school. Don't know when I'll be home."  
  
"Oh, Maybe you should take Akari-chan with you. You  
don't spend time with her any more."  
  
"That's because she kicked me *out* of the go club, Mom!"   
He sounded very much like he was sulking again. "Anyway, I  
still see her at school."  
  
"Hikaru, do you remember that time you and Akari went up  
to your grandfather's attic and you fainted and she had to  
call an ambulance?"  
  
Akira almost choked on his tea. "What?"  
  
"It's true. It was about two years ago. Very strange.   
He's never had any health problems that I know of, but for  
some reason ..."  
  
"Yeah, I just thought I saw something weird," said Shindo  
making a subtle gesture with his thumb toward the space at his  
right. "Next thing I know I'm lying on the floor by that old  
goban. No big deal. I was fine the next day."  
  
Akira stared at his friend. What was he trying to say,  
exactly? He watched as Shindo again gestured at something  
that wasn't there.  
  
"Oh! Umm ... I mean ..." Sai. It was when he'd met  
Sai. He'd heard parts of this story, but ...  
  
"What is it, Akira-kun? What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing Shindo-san, I just ... forgot something."  
  
Shindo was smothering a giggle with his napkin.  
  
"Anyway, if it's alright, maybe I could come with you to  
your grandfather's house tomorrow. You said he plays go,  
didn't you?"  
  
"Oh, isn't that a good idea, Hikaru? Maybe your  
grandfather can give you boys a lesson. I bet he'd like  
that."  
  
"Mom! You know that Touya is really good, right?"  
  
"Of course, dear. That's why I thought he might like a  
match. Don't worry. I'm sure he won't go too hard on you  
two."  
  
"Umm ... Right Mom. Anyway, that's where we'll be  
tomorrow, so if you need me you can call."  
  
Mrs Shindo sighed. "Always go. I wish you'd spend more  
time with homework. What's going to happen to you if you  
can't get into a good highschool? You can't play go for a  
living, you know."  
  
This time Akira really did choke on his tea.  
  
***  
  
Now that he knew the way, he usually took the train to  
the Shindo home and back, but tonight he'd stayed longer than  
he had planned, and wanted to get home as quickly as possible.   
Shindo was good enough to walk him out to the waiting taxi.  
  
"Sorry about my mom. She doesn't mean anything by it,  
she just ... Geeze. And Waya teases *me* for not knowing  
anything about go."  
  
It did seem strange that she'd learned nothing in two  
years. "Do you talk to her about it?"  
  
"Well, yeah. It just doesn't seem to sink in. I guess  
she thinks that 'cause I'm a kid, I can't really be serious  
about anything, or good at it. Can't really blame her,  
though. I never *was* serious about anything before I met  
Sai. She doesn't play herself, so I can't just challenge her  
or anything. Maybe if I beat grandpa she'll get it. Probably  
not, though."  
  
"You'll have to take her to a tournament some day. Pros  
our age beat grown men all the time."  
  
"Yeah, that's a good idea." He yawned. It *had* been a  
long night for both of them. "It'll have to wait until spring,  
though. No plan is perfect."  
  
"She's right about your homework, you know. Being well  
educated is a real advantage to a pro. You never know who  
you'll have to impress with intelligent conversation."  
  
Shindo laughed. "Then I'm doomed."  
  
Akira leaned against the inside of the open cab door.   
"Is it really okay for me to come with you tomorrow?"  
  
"Sure. No problem. Do you want to meet me at school?   
It's a fairly short walk."  
  
During the drive home he tried to review the night's  
games, but for some reason his mind was full of anticipation.   
Something important had happened, though he wasn't exactly  
sure what. And perhaps tomorrow he could convince Shindo to  
tell him the entire story of the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai.  
  
***  
  
On his way to Shindo's school the following day, Akira  
thought about what he already knew.  
  
He'd been coming to Shindo's home for a little more than  
two months before he'd learned the truth. He'd been assuming  
that Sai was just a hastily chosen internet name for Shindo's  
white-hand games. There had been moments when he'd suspected  
that something deeper was going on, but he'd become good at  
ignoring feelings like that. It wasn't something that he and  
Shindo had ever talked about. He'd thought at the time that  
he never brought the subject up directly because Shindo must  
have had his own reasons for hiding so long. Looking back, he  
was willing to admit that he'd been a little afraid, too.   
Afraid of learning something he didn't really want to know.  
  
In the end, though, it *had* been Akira's idle curiosity  
that had brought the truth forward. One question, one  
statement of an incorrect assumption, and Shindo had told him  
everything. Had, in fact, shown only a little resistance to  
giving Akira the *whole* *story*.  
  
It had been during one of their regular game sessions in  
Shindo's room. Brainstorming about how they might someday  
bring about a game between Sai and Akira's father had become a  
common activity during those afternoons, and Akira had been  
reminded of yet another mystery.  
  
"Shindo?" he'd asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
Akira stretched his legs working out the stiffness from  
the first game. It had been longer than most of his matches  
with black-hand Shindo, and he knew he should have taken  
longer to rest before starting a white-hand game, but as  
always he'd been a little too eager. "Why did you stop  
playing internet games?"  
  
"Everybody was trying to find out who I was. It was  
creepy."  
  
"Everybody?"  
  
Shindo had the grace to look guilty. "You."  
  
"But I already knew you were capable of play like this.   
Why did it matter if I found out you were Sai?"  
  
"You didn't know. You just suspected. The last thing in  
the *world* I wanted to do was hand you proof."  
  
This was the part he still didn't understand. On the  
plus side, he seemed perfectly willing to admit to everything  
now, but on the minus side, he hadn't yet explained his  
reasons. "I wish you'd just tell me what's really going on.   
Playing a strong game like this is an incredible feat. It  
doesn't matter that you're imitating someone else's style. It  
still takes amazing skill and insight. If you're not ready to  
show the world yet, I understand, but I guess I don't  
understand why you hid it from *me* for so long."  
  
"Imitating someone's style?" was the half shocked  
reaction. "Is *that* what you think I'm doing?"  
  
"Well ... I understand that you're working hard to  
develop your own style. I think that's wonderful. That you  
can imitate Shusaku like this, though ..."  
  
Hikaru snickered, then laughed outright. "Shusaku?"  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Well, didn't you notice that the style has been  
changing? It's not really like Shusaku's any more."  
  
It was better than Shusaku's. That was the frightening  
part. "I did notice. I assumed that you'd improved on his  
style. Took the basic mechanics and brought them up to date  
with contemporary strategy."  
  
Shindo was quiet for a moment. He shook his head. "I  
kinda wondered what you'd decided. I didn't realize ... Man!   
You give me *way* too much credit!"  
  
Akira felt a strong chill run up his spine and settle  
behind his right eye. His heart was beating quickly. "Then  
... then what is really going on?"  
  
"You wouldn't believe it."  
  
"I can't believe it unless you tell me."  
  
"You promise not to freak?"  
  
There was a vein pulsing painfully in his left temple,  
and the hairs on his arms were beginning to stand up. A  
hundred little clues were piecing themselves together in his  
mind. He told himself that it was crazy, not to mention  
impossible. He nodded stiffly.  
  
Slowly, Shindo turned around. "5 - 15," he said. From  
where *I'm* sitting."  
  
Akira complied. Blind go? What was blind go supposed to  
prove?" "10 - 7" he said.  
  
"No," Shindo protested. "Don't tell me. Just place a  
stone."  
  
"But how-?"  
  
"I just ... can't think of any other way to explain it so  
you'll believe me. 5 - 17."  
  
They were nearly to yose. It would have been easy for  
Shindo to predict the most likely progression of the next ...  
five or six moves. He placed Shindo's stone, then his own,  
then Shindo's, and he waited.  
  
There was no change in Shindo's style of play. He  
couldn't see the board. He couldn't possibly still know where  
Akira was placing any given stone, but his joseki was still  
flawless down to a move. His responses were perfect;  
innovative; devastating. It was ... absolutely impossible.   
  
He waited a little longer than he normally would have to  
concede. He was too spellbound by the continuing flow of  
moves that couldn't possibly be happening. Even Shindo  
couldn't possibly ...  
  
He was avoiding thinking about the implications. He was  
avoiding the inevitable thought process -- all the memories of  
times when Shindo's words and actions had seemed ... had  
seemed to suggest that ...   
  
Of course, he'd been assuming that he was reading too  
much in to those incidents, or that Shindo himself had lived  
with the idea of 'Sai' for so long that he had begun to  
sometimes think of his other hand as a separate individual.  
  
Neither of these theories explained how Shindo could  
soundly defeat him even with his back turned to the board any  
more than they explained why Akira had often felt that  
something deeper was going on than he had acknowledged on a  
conscious level. The creepy feeling he sometimes had when  
there was silence between them for too long. As if someone  
were watching unseen. As if they'd never really been alone  
together.  
  
He was beginning to shake and his palms felt warm and  
wet. The sense of something alien and frightening was  
stronger than ever. He muttered his resignation just to get  
Shindo to turn around. When he did, he looked at the board,  
then at Akira. He'd never seen a more serious expression on  
Shindo's face. "It's not me imitating anyone," he said in a  
slow and calm voice which did nothing to settle Akira's racing  
mind. "It's just because I'm the only one that can see or  
hear him."  
  
"Can see or hear ... who?" he asked, though he dreaded  
the only possible answer.  
  
It was unnerving the way that Shindo looked directly into  
his eyes, He knew this boy. He knew he had no reason to lie.   
Why wasn't he saying anything?  
  
Finally the answer came. The word he'd never been so  
reluctant to hear.  
  
"Sai."  
  
"Sai is not a person, Shindo. He can't be." There was  
no way that what was being suggested could possibly be true.   
It didn't matter how many times he himself had begun to feel  
that something more was going on than he'd yet been able to  
understand. There could not be a ... a ...  
  
"I know, but he doesn't like to be called a ..."  
  
He knew he was going to ask. He told himself that he  
really didn't want to hear the answer as Shindo looked at him  
with those concerned but unblinking eyes, but he couldn't stop  
his lips from forming the words. "A what?"  
  
"Ghost."  
  
He was terrified and angry, but somehow relieved too.   
One of them had finally said it. Now he could argue to his  
heart's content. "There's no such thing."   
  
Nothing would have felt better at the moment than a good  
screaming fight. Shindo, usually willing to oblige only  
looked at him calmly, as if he were expecting the response but  
was also a little disappointed by it. "Alright then, how do  
*you* think I play like this? You're the one person who knows  
how *suddenly* I started playing like this. You *saw* how I  
held the stones that first day. You tell *me* what's going on  
here."  
  
Akira closed his eyes. He wanted to argue. He wanted to  
leave and return to the world where people were sane. He  
didn't need friends his own age if they were going to make him  
uncomfortable with wild and frightening stories that were  
obviously ... obviously ...   
  
Even his logical mind had no choice. He had to accept  
what his intuitive mind had been telling him from the  
beginning. If it hadn't been for the game he'd just lost ...   
It meant that somewhere in this room someone ... something ...  
  
But hadn't that something taught him much? Didn't that  
someone love go as much as he or Shindo?  
  
"Let me see if I understand this. You're ... possessed?   
By the ghost of Shusaku?"  
  
"No. Sai isn't Shusaku. Plus I don't really know if  
it's possessed. He just ... follows me around and ...  
complains a lot."  
  
At that point, Shindo had begun arguing with himself --  
with Sai, he'd corrected himself. It reminded Akira of the  
second time he'd seen Shindo as he'd come up from the subway  
station. A few more pieces of the puzzle had fallen into  
place.   
  
Today, he was hoping to get a few more pieces.  
***  
When they arrived, Shindo's grandfather had company.   
"You remember Niwa Takeshi, don't you, Hikaru?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Hi, Niwa-san. Grandpa, Niwa-san, this is  
Touya Akira. He's a two-dan-"   
  
"Go player, right?" Niwa interrupted. He was a  
gentleman of about the same age as the elder Shindo. Early  
seventies, perhaps. "You're the meijin's son, aren't you?"  
  
"Oh, do you follow professional go, Niwa-san?"  
  
"I pick up 'Weekly Go' now and then. I brought this  
week's issue to show Shindo here the report on the new pros."   
He turned to the fourteen-year-old Shindo and waved the open  
periodical in front of him. "Seems big things are expected of  
his little grandson. Finished second. Beat the top finisher.   
But if you're Touya Akira the second dan, then you were last  
year's top finisher. Am I right?"  
  
"Well ..."  
  
"There's an article? I'm in it?" Shindo made a grab for  
the magazine and began reading.  
  
"Shindo-san, Shindo wanted to challenge you. I asked if  
I could come along and watch. I hope we're not intruding."  
  
"Not at all, Touya-san. We were just about to have some  
tea. May I offer you some?"  
  
The whole group began to drift towards the back patio,  
the grandfather leading, Touya and the chattering Niwa-san  
coming after, and Shindo trailing, his nose still buried in  
'Weekly Go v 24 i 37.' Mr Shindo had a lovely traditionally-  
landscaped yard, and it seemed that the two men had been  
planning to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather  
with a game. There was a goban in the shade and tea service  
for two. Grandfather retreated into the house as they all  
found seats.  
  
Shindo looked at Akira shocked beyond his face's ability  
to really express. "You really said this?"  
  
"Which part?"  
  
"Quote 'The younger Touya said that Shindo is the player  
to watch among the three. Touya, who admits to a long-time  
rivalry with the new shodan also mentioned that Shindo's  
unorthodox play may unbalance many of the more experienced  
players.'"  
  
"I really said that."  
  
"About *me*?"  
  
"It is an article about the new players, right? It's  
paraphrased, but fairly accurate. Why?"  
  
"It's just ... It's just so ... nice. I mean, not that I  
don't think you're ... but ... You still *beat* me!"  
  
"He didn't ask if *I* could beat you. He asked if anyone  
else could. There *are* still people even among the insei who  
think that you just got really lucky. I just told him that  
*those* people were in for a surprise. And we have until  
April to whip you into shape, right?"  
  
Niwa laughed. "It's true, then. Most of the opinions  
they got about you were pretty luke-warm. Nobody seems to  
know much. They're all talking about Ochi. I can tell I'm  
going to make a lot of money next season from my booky."  
  
Shindo frowned at the article. "None of the other people  
they interviewed had anything good to say about me. Just how  
unexpected my placement was."  
  
"That's not true." Akira leaned over and helped his  
friend find a passage on the next page. "Here. The insei  
master says that when you applied last year you really didn't  
have the same skill level as the other insei, but that he  
admitted you because he was impressed by your record of  
progress in the short time you've been playing."  
  
"Only you would think that's a compliment, Touya."  
  
"No, look, they quoted him directly here. 'Shindo has  
shown the same impressive improvement in his time with the Go  
Institute. I believe I can safely say that he has not yet  
peaked in skill.' See? Just because this is the first most  
pros have heard of you doesn't mean anything. Those of us who  
know you are quaking in our boots."  
  
Shindo looked at him strangely. "Why do you sound so  
happy when you say that?"  
  
He *was* eager to see Shindo surpass him. Why?  
  
"Sorry to keep you waiting," grandfather said returning  
with more cups and food from the kitchen. "Niwa and I were  
just thinking of having a game, but ..."  
  
"But now that you two are here," Niwa interrupted, "we  
should really set up another board."  
  
"Really, Niwa, Touya-san may not want-"  
  
"Oh, come on, Shindo, How often do you have a chance to  
challenge two of the most talked about young pros to a little  
double match? It's a perfect opportunity."  
  
"I'm not sure we should-"  
  
Shindo shrugged and looked at Akira. "What? Kids  
against geezers?"  
  
"Shindo, you really shouldn't-" Akira began, but Niwa  
laughed and clapped Shindo on the back.   
  
"That's the spirit! I have to warn you, I'm pretty  
good."  
  
Grandfather shook his head. "We only have one goban."  
  
"Weren't you saying the other day that there's one in  
your attic? Something about it being cursed or something?"  
  
"We can't use that one, Niwa. It's too valuable, and  
..."  
  
Niwa poked Mr Shindo in the ribs. "Hey, you don't buy  
that stuff about ghosts hanging out around it, do you? Are  
you afraid of that curse?"  
  
Mr Shindo seemed outraged. "Of course not! I just ...  
don't want it damaged. It belonged to my brother, and ..."  
  
"Really, Shindo! We're all go lovers here. We'll take  
good care of it. Why don't we send the boys up to get it?"  
  
Grandfather looked a little pale, but agreed. He seemed  
to be watching his grandson carefully for signs that he  
remembered that strange day long ago, but Shindo Hikaru seemed  
oblivious. "Come on, Touya," he said. "I'll show you where  
the stairs are."  
  
When they were out of earshot, Akira finally allowed  
himself to ask how it had all happened.   
  
"Akari and I came to visit, and I decided to look around  
in the attic. You know how old people have all kinds of  
interesting stuff?"  
  
They climbed the stairs and went up through a hatch in  
the ceiling. "Akari was worried that we shouldn't come up.   
Anyway, I was poking around in that big chest over there, and  
the goban was inside it."  
  
He opened the chest in question and moved the contents  
around until he located the mysterious board. With a fond  
smile, he pulled it out. "Here it is! Anyway, I was trying  
to explain to Akari what it was for, and then I noticed that  
it had all these stains on it. Like blood, and water damage.   
See?"  
  
Shindo pointed, but Akira couldn't see anything out of  
the ordinary. The centuries old wood looked like it was in  
fine condition. "Stains?"  
  
"You can't see them?"  
  
He shook his head a little sadly. Maybe secretly he'd  
been hoping ...  
  
"Akari couldn't see them either. Plus she couldn't hear  
his voice when he started to talk to me. And then I passed  
out, and when I woke up, he was here with me. That's the  
whole story. We should go back down." He fished the stones  
out of the chest and handed them to Akira, then took the goban  
and headed for the stairs. Akira, still a bit stunned by this  
matter of fact telling of a very strange tale watched him  
leave.  
  
For a moment, he thought that Shindo's shadow as he  
crouched to carefully take the first step was too long for his  
height, then Shindo disappeared down stairs with the goban,  
and Akira blinked to clear the strange double vision before  
following.  
***  
Exactly how the first match up was decided, he wasn't  
sure. He suspected that the elder Shindo was still a little  
wary of his family heirloom's reputation, and worried about  
its possible role in his grandson's collapse over two years  
ago. The result was that the two of them ended up in a first  
match on his everyday goban, while Akira and Mr Niwa sat  
across from one another at the goban from the attic. He  
thought he heard his friend mumble something about not wanting  
to play on a blood stained board anyway, but decided to ignore  
it.  
  
Ten hands in, he had the measure of his opponent's skill  
and was beginning to relax into the game. Niwa-san was a  
skilled player of about the level of a beginning insei. He  
knew the game well, but Akira was confident of his victory,  
and could even allow the older gentleman save face. The one  
objection he did have was with his opponent's speed. He  
thought very carefully about each move and as a result the  
game had the potential to become time consuming.  
  
Akira kept his eyes on the board and considered what he  
knew about Fujiwara no Sai. Shindo had never said how he'd  
died or at what age, but for some reason, Akira was beginning  
to imagine him in his mid twenties with the very long hair of  
the period and delicate, almost feminine features. If it  
wasn't just his imagination running wild, then Shindo's  
teacher had died very young. There was a twinge in his heart  
as he thought of a brilliance and love for go unparalleled cut  
off so abruptly.  
  
His eyes were no longer in focus and as he corrected that  
state, he almost panicked. When had black laid so many  
stones? But then the goban was back to the grid and the game  
he remembered, and he decided that the darker stones had just  
been more prominent in his momentary double vision. The dark  
patches he thought he'd seen for a moment hadn't fit any  
logical pattern anyway. An optical illusion. Nothing more.  
  
He looked over at Shindo's game. He recognized the  
almost trance-like concentration with amusement. It was the  
younger Shindo who seemed to be ahead so far, but the elder  
was still holding his own.  
  
Niwa placed a stone, and Akira looked back at his own  
board. It was odd. Even though the goban was in the shade of  
the house, it seemed that the shadows played over the surface  
in strange patterns. He looked up searching for a second --  
possibly reflected -- light source, but there was no glass in  
the back of the house across the fence, or anything else that  
could cause something like the dark spots that kept playing  
with his vision.  
  
He considered what he knew about the Heian period. Back  
then go had been an important part of political, social, and  
military life. Someone with Sai's talent for the game would  
have been highly sought after not only by men like the emperor  
and his court, but also by generals and public officials. A  
man's rank in the army, for example, would depend on his rank  
at birth , but also on his tactical skills which were proven  
above a goban like this one just as often as they were proven  
in battle. The climate that the go master Sai would have  
grown up in would have to have been one in which a skill at go  
could mean the way out of poverty, or clan prejudice, or even  
political disfavor towards oneself or one's family. Growing  
up, Akira had often imagined himself born hundreds of years  
ago with only his skill to keep him from starving of falling  
victim to bandits or armies. Had Sai come from a privileged  
background, or had he worked hard to bring himself to the  
attention of the nobility and finally the emperor?   
  
He knew so little ...  
  
"My goodness, Hikaru! You really have gotten better,  
haven't you?"  
  
"Do you give up yet, grandpa?"  
  
Akira smiled as Shindo was lectured on overconfidence.   
He looked over at the two of them ...  
  
Was it just a day for his eyes to play tricks on him? It  
was only for an instant, but he thought he saw ...  
  
Then again, with all this talk of curses, and all his  
thoughts of this particular haunting, was it so very strange  
that he would be starting to see things? If he let his mind  
or his eye wander further into this ... illusion or  
enchantment, what would happen? He carefully looked out of  
the corner of his eye at the spot where he'd imagined that  
third figure when he'd allowed himself to look at the Shindos.   
There did seem to be something there, but when he looked at it  
directly, it was nothing. He tried several times and each  
time the shadow became clearer and clearer, but each time it  
was banished by direct examination. He was beginning to  
understand it a little better. The hat had given him some  
trouble. It was period, of course, and Akira had always been  
good at history, but he hadn't recognized the Heian imperial  
court headdress immediately. Avoiding rational thought, he  
allowed himself to be drawn a little further into the fantasy.   
There was a ghost sitting calmly beside Shindo. That ghost  
was watching Akira. He was sure of it.  
  
In front of him, a stone clicked into place. Years of  
conditioning drew his eyes back to the goban before him which  
was suddenly spotted with blood. He did his best to control  
his startled reaction, but his opponent asked "Are you  
alright, Touya-san?"  
  
Akira blinked. There was nothing on the surface of the  
goban but stones and etched enameled lines. He looked at  
Niwa. "Yes, I'm fine. I just thought a wasp had landed on my  
arm."  
  
He studied the game.  
  
Sai was watching him. It made the hairs on the back of  
his neck stand up. Being forced to admit logically that your  
best friend was followed by a friendly spirit was one thing.   
Realizing emotionally that there was something supernatural  
that had become a part of your everyday life was something  
different. Something far more frightening. He placed a white  
stone.  
  
This was crazy. It was absolutely insane. He was  
willing to accept Shindo's word that an entity like Sai could  
exist. He had made peace with that belief. Was he really  
ready to let himself continue to seek further proof? Would  
trying to become in tune with whatever force it was that was  
bringing him closer to these brief visions allow him to see or  
hear the ghost, or would he find he'd been deceiving himself?   
Or worse, would it drive him towards madness?  
  
He couldn't look up. The thought of the spell being  
completed ... The thought of his eyes meeting the eyes of one  
who could not be there made him uncomfortable and more than a  
little frightened. Why? Wasn't Sai a good person? Wasn't he  
Shindo's friend? Someone who understood the beauty and the  
poetry of this game to which Akira had devoted his life? If  
he, even for a moment, could see him, or hear him ...  
  
He couldn't look up. He was sure that if he looked up,  
it would be all that was needed for the impossible to come to  
pass. He was afraid, and he hated himself for that fear.   
  
One thing at a time, he told himself. If you can't look  
at the ghost, look at the board.  
  
The same sense that had told him for months that all was  
not as it seemed with Shindo was telling him that there was  
more to this goban than wood or enamel or even history. He  
focused on that feeling.  
  
When he had seen dark spots on this board, his player's  
mind had carefully marked their shape between the lines he  
knew so well. He imagined that shape now. He let his vision  
blur a little, as if he were looking at one of those magic eye  
puzzles that he'd seen in shops. The shape in his imagination  
drifted over the board; over and through the lines; melding  
with a second shape. One he'd known was there all along.  
  
For a moment he saw the stains clearly. Blood and ...  
water? No. Those were tears. There were too many white-  
drying minerals for mere water. They were Sai's tears.  
  
However he knew that, he also knew that the blood was not  
Sai's.   
  
His opponent placed a stone.  
  
He was looking at the clean, well preserved goban again,  
but he wasn't fooled. He placed a stone and regarded the  
blonde wood with the subtle grain. He had memorized the exact  
mental state that had allowed him to see the spiritual truth  
of this board. With confidence, he reached for it; readjusted  
his vision. Blood and tears. He could see them again. He  
had done it. He had unlocked the mystery of the goban. He  
smiled to himself and thought about the next logical step.   
He'd done all of this for a reason. He'd come to this house  
and put himself through this ordeal for the express purpose of  
finding out more about Sai, and he couldn't stop now. He'd  
been afraid, but suddenly he was not. Suddenly more than  
anything he wanted to meet his friend's teacher. *His*  
teacher. His friend. He smiled and looked up.  
  
Sai was smiling in return.  
***  
So what happend?" Shindo asked as they walked toward his  
home. The three of them.  
  
Akira struggled to explain. "I don't know. The more I  
looked at that board, the more I thought I saw something.   
Eventually I figured out that I could make myself see it if I  
tried hard enough. Once I could see the stains, I could see  
Sai too."  
  
"That's *so* cool! You still can't hear him?"  
  
"No. Just seeing so far. Hearing ... I may or may not  
be able to learn that later."  
  
"Yeah." Shindo sounded a little disappointed for a  
moment, then became excited again. "But this is *so* cool!   
He's really happy!"  
  
That much was obvious. You didn't need to know someone  
like Sai for long before you could read all his emotions. He  
was very animated ... for a person so long deceased. It was  
the kind of happiness that couldn't help but spread, and Akira  
was feeling quite proud of himself. "We know that you can  
beat your grandfather now."  
  
"Yeah, he's pretty strong, but not as strong as me."  
  
"What was that business about the thousand yen?"  
  
"Ah, just an old joke. When I first challenged him I  
told him if I won he had to give me that much. We never did  
finish that game." Shindo laughed.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It's funny. That was the first time I ever tried to  
play for Sai, and he kept saying 'upper left kosumi' and  
stuff. I had no *idea* what he was talking about. I finally  
told him to just use numbers, but I was taking way too long  
for each turn, so grandpa got mad and told me to come back in  
six months. I took a couple of classes after that, but they  
didn't go so good either. I guess I got this way of making  
people mad at me. I didn't really start to learn until I met  
Tsutsui and started going to the club at school."   
  
Shindo's laughter made Akira laugh. He looked at Sai who  
also seemed to be enjoying the memory of those days. He  
wondered what it would be like to really discover go. To come  
from a place where you knew nothing of it, to a place where  
you were slowly learning, to a place where it *became* your  
all-consuming passion.   
  
He could not imagine a world without go at its center,  
but Shindo had come from such a world; the world in which most  
people still lived. Shindo's eyes still glowed with the joy  
of his discovery while to Akira, go had always been oxygen and  
sustenance.   
  
In a way, he envied his friend that joy, but then again,  
he was still beating Shindo. His years of play had given him  
this grace period, and he was grateful for that. For how much  
longer, he couldn't say, but for now, today, he was ahead of  
Shindo because he'd learned when he was a small child at his  
father's knee. He could never love the game as Shindo now  
did, so instead he'd have to love it as Akira did. Destiny  
had brought Shindo and his teacher together, and Touya Kouyo's  
son had no doubt that destiny had played a similar role in his  
own life.  
  
"It's been a good day," said Shindo quietly.  
  
Akira had to agree.   
  
  
---------------------------  
Author's notes:  
  
Yes, there was more to this story. Lots of people have asked. There's  
actually an entire 100 page Mead 5 star notebook full of this story. Most of  
it is not very good. It was cathartic writing it, but that's about it. I did  
really like this scene, though, and decided that it stood well enough on its  
own to be published as another one shot. Hopefully at least some of you will  
agree.   
  
Krista Perry ( www.akane.org ) did pre-read this story, but didn't have  
anything helpful to say about it. :p  
  
If you're bored, please visit my soon to be updated webpage at  
www.akane.org/michelle or my webcomic collaboration with Krista at  
www.utukki.com 


End file.
